It appears that the hierarchy of the box office won’t be a thing for Black Adam after all. It’s being reported that the vast-budget DC Film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is looking to lose $100 million at the box office. Despite the star power, the action, and even the appearance of a long-missed DC superhero, Black Adam couldn’t cut it in theaters. Unfortunately, it looks like Warner Bros. is going to feel the sting of that one.
The titular antihero, Black Adam, brought Johnson’s character to the forefront of the movie alongside other DC superhero characters like Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone. Although the film was well-liked among general moviegoers, some critics weren’t feeling the movie, which might have damaged the box-office numbers. It didn’t help that most of the movie’s predictable plot was super thin, and most of the action was in tune with a child’s fantasy of smashing their toys together.
The report comes from Variety, which analyzed Black Adam‘s box-office numbers. Sources indicate that the studio spent between $80-100 million on marketing alone. Picture that dollar amount paired with the movie’s $200 million budget, meaning Black Adam had to make $600 million worldwide to break even. Box Office Mojo states that the film made only $384 million worldwide at the end of its theatrical run.
It should be noted, though, that the report also says that the movie could break even at $400 million.
Let’s also not forget that the movie is currently sitting at a 39 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The low number makes Black Adam the worst-reviews installment in the DCU since the theatrical cut of 2017’s Justice League. Moreover, though Black Adam was a lesser-known comic book character, the movie faced other hurdles.
The movie was released in October – a time of year that is normally reserved for suspense and horror films. The fact that Black Adam came out a week before the highly anticipated Halloween Ends didn’t help the movie’s chance of succeeding at the box office either. The DCU Film also had to go up against Marvel Studios Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which has already cracked $700 million worldwide. The return of Black Adam in another DC Film is up in the air at this point, so we’ll have to wait and see.